i give it a rinse, let it rest a bit, then short steeps in close-to boiling, but i aint got enough to really experiment much + i tend to go by feeling ..

I had been piling in the leaf and steeping for a while because I happened to try it this way the first time and liked it. It seems like all of the black teas from Taiwan that I've tried do fine with quite a bit of leaf and a long steep. I may try it your way to see what the difference is. I had been afraid to lower the time because I thought it might take some flavor away.

I had been piling in the leaf and steeping for a while because I happened to try it this way the first time and liked it. It seems like all of the black teas from Taiwan that I've tried do fine with quite a bit of leaf and a long steep. I may try it your way to see what the difference is. I had been afraid to lower the time because I thought it might take some flavor away.

ha, since reading this i bin feeling that longer steeps could work better.

I have been enjoying some Lover's Leap OP from Capital Tea, while at work, for the past few days. A very nice tea -- mellow, smooth, with hints of citrus / menthol. This, in spite of the fact that I have little control over the infusions while at work.

Finishing off the last infusions of 'Red of Four Seasons' from Easy Tea Hard Choice. Brewed in what's become my normal style for reds lately, a packed 50ml yixing with flash infusions.

My first impression on smelling the dry leaves was dark and very minty, and the first few brews agreed. I've gotten the odd hints of mint from Taiwanese reds before, but this tea is upfront minty for the first half a dozen or so infusions, which is a nice surprise. I took a nice deep breath after these infusions through the mouth, and you can taste/feel the mintiness on the breath. The tea is also darker than other Taiwanese reds I've had before, but remains smooth and coats the back of my throat with a nice lingering thickness. The tea remains fruity over the infusions, with lighter fruits as the brews go on. Two other interesting fragrances included a few infusions of baked rye bread, and one infusion that reminded me of the beach.

Had a 1950s Chien Liang Cha (Thousand Taels Tea) last night. This is a compressed black tea from Wuhan from a sheng base. It is an interesting black tea done in Puer style. Traditionally they grab whaever raw material (tea leaves) and pan fried them and then compressed them in a tree trunk shape without any piling or fermentation process. The later batches, (as usual based on profit generation and market demand) are piled and gone through fermentation process which is undesirable. Both can be recognised by tasting them.

In Hong Kong, there are some 80s available but it is at bank account breaker price. This piece is from the 1950s and collected by my teamaster.

We brewed this tea occasionally to enjoy it, afterall, why collect if we don't drink. Usually we brewed it by itself or with aged mandarin peel. Yesterday we brewed it with agarwood.

The taste is smooth and flavourful but the aroma is fading off. The agarwood helped to prop it up. The Qi and spirit of such old tea is mesmerising, often we can feel the fine hair behind the neck stand up.

Well just to share this experience. Cheers!

Attached is the photo of the tea leaves after half an hour of refreshing. The leaves is still dark greenish and reddish tint in colour. Also attached is the photo of the brew.

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Last edited by Teaism on Sep 2nd, '13, 01:05, edited 3 times in total.